Rockets win from advancing

PORTLAND, Ore. - Youth and inexperience are catching up with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The youngest team in the postseason has struggled with Houston’s Yao Ming to fall behind 3-1 in the playoff series with the Rockets and faces elimination tonight in Portland.

Yao had 21 points and 12 rebounds in an 89-88 victory over the Blazers on Sunday night. Once his teammates were able to get him the ball inside, Yao was nearly unstoppable. When Portland tried to double him, that left someone else open.

“When Yao is scoring for us and gets a lot of touches, he’s our foundation and we feel great every time he catches the ball because we know he commands so much attention that it’s going to open up things for us,” Rockets forward Shane Battier said.

While focused on Yao, the Blazers also made some crucial mistakes that cost them after leading 70-64 going into the fourth quarter.

Two obvious errors came with less than a minute to play. First, when a falling Joel Przybilla badly overthrew Steve Blake after rebounding Blake’s missed 3-point attempt, the ball sailed into the backcourt. Then, with Houston leading 87-85, Portland’s Brandon Roy drove to the basket and was called for an offensive foul when he ran into Chuck Hayes.